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Daniel Serras
Daniel Serras is the former Vice-President of the Spirit Society in the role-play Fifth Cycle. His President during his time in the Spirit Society was Cynthine Morrigan. Warning: This page contains unmarked spoilers. Overview Once the Vice-President of Conn University's Spirit Society, Daniel has left the world of the living for the Fragment world of Sacuro with his follower, Stephen Tamora. Throughout his time at the university, unbeknownst to the rest of the society, he worked alongside Stephen Tamora and Anna Carr, researching the nature of human souls. Upon discovering the existence of an unknown higher power, Daniel began looking for means to escape its influence. Believing that combining the conflicting forces of Soulformers and Fragments would create a being outside its influence, Daniel began to pursue the path of creating hybrids. After attempting many times to create such beings, he finally settles on using Judith to augment his own telepathic and telekinetic abilities, allowing him to make the changes personally. Taking residence in Sacuro, the world of the Fragments, after openly announcing his intentions, Daniel has begin to wage war on the Spirit Society with an army of Soulformer-Fragment hybrids called Pedazo. Appearance Daniel initially appears as a quiet, bookish young man who is trusted by all of the Spirit Society. He is described as being easy to approach and "incapable of anger". Physically, he is surprisingly thin in contrast with his height, which gives the impression of being slightly underweight. Typical of a student, his dark hair is very messy and somewhat unkempt. He also wore small, frameless glasses, but discarded them during the Battle of Conn University prior to his betrayal. His facial expressions are normally very reserved, and he normally tries to maintain an aura of calm and control. Personality As the Spirit Society's Vice-President, Daniel was trusted by all of the society and it has been suggested on many occasions that Cynthine may have held some romantic feelings for him. His perceived nature as a quiet and easygoing person made it easy for many to approach and trust him, and he was also seen to be very responsible during the multiple occasions when he was forced to take Cynthine's place during her many absences. He was so trusted by everyone that Yesugei didn't suspect that he might have been a traitor following the attack in Lóegaire Forest. However, he later revealed that these were all assumptions people made of him, and that he simply kept up the illusion because it made it easier to hide his true intentions. Even after his betrayal, Daniel's personality did not change. He still appeared calm and surprisingly well-mannered during his confessions to the numerous atrocities that he had committed or allowed, even going so far as to reassure Judith that her faith had "not been held in vain" while revealing the existence of the higher power to her. This attitude is what sets him apart from his companion, Stephen Tamora. Unlike the former professor, who is arrogant, boisterous and overly theatrical, Daniel is humbler and, ironically, more intellectual. He has only been seen angry on one occasion, following Kishor's attack towards the end of the Autumn Arc, and even then he quickly regained his composure. Daniel does not appear to have any problem with the behaviour of his subordinates, and actively encouraged Stephen and Anna Carr, while she was working under him, to pursue their own courses of action during throughout their partnership. He also appears to value the opinions of those who work alongside him, revealing that the idea to create the persona of "The King" was originally Anna's idea. Despite his status as an antagonist, Daniel shows honour and respect towards others on many occasions, such as when he allowed Anna to choose whether to follow him or not, and respected Kate's hope that she would not be forced to use her powers to change Soulformers into Fragments. However, he is far from compassionate, as shown from his desire to kill off all but the strongest of Soulformers and then change them into hybrids without their consent. Philosophically, Daniel is a misotheist. He believes that mankind should be the sole rulers of the world and that God, or any other higher power, has no place in their affairs. Following the discovery of such a being, he seeks to cut humans off from it by changing them into Soulformer-Fragment hybrids. So far, he has successfully created several such beings, albeit incomplete ones, but Unlucky Number Five indirectly confirmed during an exchange with Stephen that he can create fully-formed ones. The King The King was an alter ego of Daniel's that he used to control the Quislings, disguising himself in a white mask and a dark coak. By employing the use of portable Darkboxes, and playing mind-games with the group, he was able to intimidate them into following him. This reliance on ruling with fear created a situation where many of the Quislings would be unhappy with his lead but too afraid to speak out against him, which would inevitably lead to a division in the society were he ever to be removed. This theory was eventually proven true, and became the foundation for the eventual civil war between the Soulformers of Conn. History Daniel's past is largely unknown, but it has been revealed that he began working with Stephen before he came to the unversity, having met him during a university open day, and that he convinced Anna to join him following the death of her brother, Tristan. As a fourth-year student and the Vice-President of the Spirit Society, Daniel was likely voted into his position by the group's members, which implies he has been keeping up his act of a calm and compassionate young man for as long as he has been at Conn University. Synopsis Autumn Arc For the first part of the Autumn Arc, Daniel was a secondary character, primarily acting under the persona of "The King". He appeared to strike fear into the hearts of the Quislings with his supposed ability to induce Overclock through sheer force of will. When he did appear as Daniel, he was normally somewhat timid and was seen primarily as a confidant by Cynthine and the other members of the Spirit Society. It is not until after The King's supposed assassination that "Daniel" takes a more active role in the story, filling in for Cynthine and organising meetings and events in her absence. During this time, he allows Anna and Stephen complete control over their respective Quislings, giving them the freedom to make decisions and take courses of actions for themselves with little input from him. Towards the end of the term, however, he learns of Judith's ability and decides to bring his act to a close by ordering Stephen to have her captured, then forcing her to use her powers to increase his after revealing the full extent of his betrayal to the confused and devastated Spirit Society Administrators. Due to being attacked by Kishor, Daniel's powers do not fully stabilise, and he theorises that it will be a few months before they do, at which point the improvements will reach their intended levels. Daniel and Stephen are last seen escaping to Sacuro with the assistance of a group of Nyx-class Fragments, taking with them the few Quislings who wished to share in their offer of greater power. Spring Arc Daniel has not been physically seen during the latest story arc, but it has been confirmed that he created the incomplete Pedazo that attacked Unlucky Number Five and the other Soulformers, and it has also been confirmed, albeit indirectly, that he is capable of creating more complete beings. The fate of the Quislings who followed him and Stephen to Sacuro is currently unknown. Powers & Abilities Enhanced Power: As a result of using his Soulform's power to control minds on Judith, Daniel's powers improved exponentially. Exactly what level they are at has yet to be revealed, though it is not unreasonable to suggest that he may have forced her to amplify them as much as feasibly possible. Despite this, Daniel's powers do have an Achilles Heel; since the enhancements were made in Overclock he cannot venture out into the world of living outside of the Twenty-Fifth hour, which would result in his abilities returning to their previous state. Expert Actor: Perhaps the most frightening thing about Daniel in retrospect is his ability to deceive others with effortless ease. Because of his appearance, and serene personality, people instantly assumed him to be a kind and compassionate person, an illusion that he had little difficulty in keeping up. Particularly of note is the fact that Yesugei, arguably the most insightful member of the Administrators despite his boisterous personality, simply didn't believe he could be a traitor to the group. Master Manipulator & Tactician: Even though his Soulform allows him to control the minds of others, Daniel is more than capable of getting others to do his bidding without it. He was also able to organise the civil war and control its outcome by planning for every possible outcome, underlining his great tactical prowess. Perhaps the best use of this talent, however, was his ability to manipulate the Quislings into following his lead by using portable Darkboxes in a subtle way to create the illusion that he was capable of manually inducing Overclock. Vast Soul Signature: As the former Vice-President, it has been hinted on many occasions that Daniel possessed power equal, if not superior to, the Four Administrators. Although the full extent of his power has yet to be revealed, they have undoubtedly grown as a result of Judith's enhancements, and as a result it is possible that Daniel is potentially the strongest character in the Fifth Cycle universe. Soulform Daniel refers to his Soulform as the White Magician, stating that its powers are "akin to playing a magic trick". It takes the form of a long white staff, roughly the same height as Daniel. In contrast to his manipulative and complex personality, it is quite a plain object without much decoration. It is a Compressed-type, sacrificing outward physical changes for a handful of exponentially powerful abilities. In Daniel's case, it is psychic power. * Telepathy: Daniel's Soulform gives him the power to manipulate the minds of others. This allows him to either directly take control of others, as with Judith, or cause mental afflictions such as hallucinations. He has also demonstrated the ability to shut off all of target's motor functions, rendering them completely immobile. * Telekinesis: Daniel's secondary ability is telekinesis, the power to move objects with his mind. By his own account, this power allows him to manipulate physical matter, including cells and organs, and as such is a necessary requirement for creating complete Pedazo. Any other uses he may have for it have not been revealed. Judgement Daniel's Judgement has not yet been revealed, but it is extremely likely that he possesses one given his level of spiritual power and former rank in the Spirit Society. Trivia * Daniel was one of the earliest characters to be created for Fifth Cycle, but his existence was not revealed until later into the story. As the story developed, the only thing that remained the same throughout all of its various drafts was his eventual revelation as a villain. * Daniel is unique among the antagonists of The True Mirror's Role-Plays in that even after his betrayal, and the announcements of his unethical goals, he his positive traits, such as a willingness to listen to others and the tendency to allow his subordinates freedom of choice, outweigh his negative ones. He is rarely seen giving any actual orders to anyone, preferring his underlings to act of their own accord. * The relationship between Daniel and Stephen is very similar to that of "Blue and Red Oni's" in Role-Playing Games (RPG's), with Daniel providing a calm and well-mannered foil to Stephen's arrogance and ruthlessness. Whether this was an intentional decision on the behalf of their creators or not is unknown. * It is possible that Daniel may have some romantic attraction towards Anna. "The King" is said to have confided in her more than anyone else, and she was even referred to the "Queen" on numerous occasions in the beginning of the story. It is also interesting to note that Daniel stated that he did not force Kate to use her powers on anyone else was our of respect for Anna. It is also possible that his warning to her after she left his group was out of consideration given the sincerity of his words. Ironically, Anna's rival, Cynthine, appeared to have unrequited romantic feelings for him. * Daniel's hair is described on many occasions as being scruffy or unkempt. This is possibly in a reference to his creator, Seraphim Swordmaster, who is well-known for numerous references to hair on the forms. Category:Fifth Cycle Characters Category:Antagonists